Method and apparatus for coin selection utilizing a programmable memory

ABSTRACT

Coin selection methods and apparatus are disclosed in which data representative of the examination of a coin is compared with data stored in a programmable memory.



1. A method of examining coins with respect to authenticity including the steps of examining a first unidentified coin by making a measurement with respect to a first characteristic of the coin and thereby producing a first electrical signal having a quality with a first value indicative of the first characteristic of the first coin, comparing the first value with a stored value of the same quality in a programmable memory, and producing a signal indicative of the acceptability of the first coin with respect to the first characteristic when the first value is within predetermined limits for acceptable coins of a given denomination of the stored value.
 2. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of examining a second, representative coin and thereby producing an electrical signal having a second value of the same quality indicative of the first characteristic of the second coin, causing the second value to be stored in the programmable memory, and subsequently conducting the other steps with respect to the first coin.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of examining the first coin includes the substep of subjecting the first coin to an electromagnetic field, wherein the value of the first quality is indicative of the degree of interaction of the coin with the field.
 4. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of examining a second coin representative of the upper limit value of the quality for coins of a particular acceptable denomination and thereby producing an electrical signal having a second, upper limit value, storing the second value in the memory, examining a third coin representative of the lower limit value of the quality for coins of a particular acceptable denomination and thereby producing an electrical signal having a third, lower limit value, storing the third value in the memory, and subsequently conducting the other steps with respect to the first coin.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the acceptability indicative signal is produced when the first value is between the second and third values.
 6. The method of claim 4 wherein the step of examining the first coin includes the substep of subjecting the first coin to an electromagnetic field, wherein the value of the first quality is indicative of the degree of interaction of the coin with the field.
 7. The method of claim 6 further including the steps of examining the first coin and thereby producing an electrical signal having a second quality with a fourth value indicative of a second characteristic of the first coin, comparing the second value with a stored value of the second quality in the programmable memory, and producing a signal indicative of the acceptability of the first coin with respect to the second characteristic when the second value is within predetermined limits for acceptable coins of a given denomination of the stored value of the second quality.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of examining the first coin includes the substep of subjecting the first coin to an electromagnetic field, wherein the value of the first quality is indicative of the degree of interaction of the coin with the field.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the degree of interaction is indicated by the frequency of an oscillator which is a part of the field generating means.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein the frequency is determined by pulse counting for a finite, brief period to produce the values which are compared with values stored in the programmable memory.
 11. The method of claim 1 further including the step of producing a signal indicative of the denomination of the first coin if it is found to be acceptable.
 12. The method of claim 8 wherein the examination with respect to the first characteristic is dependent upon the interaction of the first coin with a relatively high frequency field and the examination of another characteristic of the coin is dependent upon the interaction of the coin with a substantially lower frequency field.
 13. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of examining the first coin and thereby producing an electrical signal having a second quality with a fourth value indicative of a second characteristic of the first coin, comparing the second value with a stored value of the second quality in the programmable memory, and producing a signal indicative of the acceptability of the first coin with respect to the second characteristic when the second value is within predetermined limits for acceptable coins of a given denomination of the stored value of the second quality.
 14. The method of claim 13 further including the steps of examining a fourth coin representative of the upper limit value of the second quality for coins of a particular acceptable denomination and thereby producing an electrical signal having a fifth, upper limit value, storing the fifth value in the memory, examining a third coin representative of the lower limit value of the second quality for coins of a particular acceptable denomination and thereby producing an electrical signal having a sixth, lower limit value, storing the sixth value in the memory, and subsequently conducting the steps with respect to the first coin.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of examining the first coin includes the substep of subjecting the first coin to an electromagnetic field, wherein the value of the first quality is indicative of the degree of interaction of the coin with the field.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the degree of interaction is indicated by the frequency of an oscillator which is a part of the field generating means.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the examination with respect to the first characteristic is dependent upon the interaction of the first coin with a relatively high frequency field and the examination of another characteristic of the coin is dependent upon the interaction of the coin with a substantially lower frequency field.
 18. The method of claim 1 further including the step of causing the coin to move with respect to a position at which it is examined, wherein the production of acceptability indicative signal with respect to the first characteristic is dependent upon whether the peak variance of the first value is within the predetermined limits.
 19. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of producing the electrical signal in analog form at a coin examining station and converting the value of that electrical signal to digital form prior to comparison with the values stored in the programmable memory.
 20. Apparatus for examining coins with respect to authenticity comprising means for examining a coin by making a measurement with respect to a first characteristic and producing a first electrical signal having a quality representative of the first characteristic, a programmable memory, and means for comparing a first value of the quality of the first signal with one or more values stored in the programmable memory.
 21. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising means for causing a value of the quality of the first signal to be stored in the programmable memory.
 22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the values stored in the programmable memory include the upper and lower limit values for coins of each acceptable denomination.
 23. The apparAtus of claim 22 further comprising a coin passageway and means for producing an electromagnetic field in a region of the passageway, wherein the first value is indicative of the degree of interaction of a coin with the field.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 25. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the field producing means includes an oscillator and the first value is dependent on the oscillator''s frequency.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 27. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising a coin passageway and means for producing an electromagnetic field in a region of the passageway, wherein the first value is indicative of the degree of interaction of a coin with the field.
 28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the field producing means includes an oscillator and the first value is dependent on the oscillator''s frequency.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28 further comprising a pulse counter connected to receive the first signal and a timing means arranged to activate the pulse counter for precise, brief periods of time.
 30. The apparatus of claim 29 wherein the pulse counter is alternately connected to receive the first signal and a second signal.
 31. The apparatus of claim 29 further comprising means for comparing the value stored in the pulse counter at the end of a period of time with at least one value stored in the programmable memory.
 32. The apparatus of claim 29 wherein the value in the pulse counter is compared during the period of counting with values stored in the programmable memory.
 33. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the values stored in the programmable memory include the upper and lower limit values for coins of each acceptable denomination.
 34. The apparatus of claim 33 further comprising means for examining a second characteristic of the coin and producing a second electrical signal having a quality representative of the second characteristic, means for comparing a second value of the quality of the second signal with one or more values stored in the programmable memory, and means for producing a signal indicative of acceptability of the coin only if the comparisons of the first value and of the second value both indicate that the respective values are within predetermined limits of the respective stored values for acceptable coins of a given denomination.
 35. The apparatus of claim 34 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 36. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein the acceptability of the coin with respect to the first characteristic is dependent upon whether the peak variance of the first value from the value produced by the same means in the absence of a coin is within predetermined limits.
 37. The apparatus of claim 33 further comprising a coin passageway, means comprising an oscillator and an inductor for generating a relatively low frequency electromagnetic field in a region of the passageway, means comprising an oscillator and an inductor for generating a substantially higher frequency electromagnetic field in a region of the passageway, wherein the value of the first electrical signal is dependent upon the frequency of the oscillator of the higher frequency field producing means.
 38. The apparatus of claim 33 further comprising analog to digital signal converting means connected to receive an analog signal from the examining means and transmit a digital signal to the comparison means.
 39. In combination the apparatus of claim 33 and peak value identification means connected to receive and identify the peak value of the first electrical signal.
 40. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein a plurality of limit values are stored at various addresses in the programmable memory, further comprising an address register arranged so that its output selects the address in the programmable memory which is connected to the compArison means, and the output of the comparison means transmits a signal to the address register which changes the address register output whenever a value received by the comparison means from the first characteristic examining means is at least as large as the value in the address of the programmable memory to which the comparison means is connected.
 41. The apparatus of claim 27 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 42. In combination the apparatus of claim 33 and peak value identification means connected to receive and identify the peak value of the first electrical signal.
 43. In combination the apparatus of claim 42 wherein the peak value identification means is also connected to transmit peak values to selected locations in the programmable memory.
 44. The apparatus of claim 43 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 45. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the programmable memory is an eraseable read only memory.
 46. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein a plurality of limit values are stored at various addresses in the programmable memory, further comprising an address register arranged so that its output selects the address in the programmable memory which is connected to the comparison means, and the output of the comparison means transmits a signal to the address register which changes the address register output whenever a value received by the comparison means from the first characteristic examining means is at least as large as the value in the address of the programmable memory to which the comparison means is connected.
 47. The apparatus of claim 46 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 48. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 49. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising means for examining a second characteristic of the coin and producing a second electrical signal having a quality representative of the second characteristic, means for comparing a second value of the quality of the second signal with one or more values stored in the programmable memory, and means for producing a signal indicative of acceptability of the coin only if the comparisons of the first value and of the second value both indicate that the respective values are within predetermined limits of the respective stored values for acceptable coins of a given denomination.
 50. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the acceptability of the coin with respect to the first characteristic is dependent upon whether the peak variance of the first value is within predetermined limits.
 51. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising a coin passageway, means comprising an oscillator and an inductor for generating a relatively low frequency electromagnetic field in a region of the passageway, means comprising an oscillator and an inductor for generating a substantially higher frequency electromagnetic field in a region of the passageway, wherein the value of the first electrical signal is dependent upon the frequency of the oscillator of the higher frequency field producing means.
 52. The apparatus of claim 51 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 53. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising analog to digital signal converting means connected to receive an analog signal from to the examining means and transmit a digital signal to the comparison means.
 54. In combination the apparatus of claim 20 and peak value identification means connected to receive and identify the peak value of the first electrical signal.
 55. In combination the apparatus of claim 54 wherein the peak value identification means is also connected to transmit peak values to selected locations in the programmable memory.
 56. The apparatus of claim 55 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 57. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the programmable memory is an eraseable read only memory.
 58. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein a plurality of limit values are stored at various addresses in the programmable memory, further comprising an address register arranged so that its output selects the address in the programmable memory which is connected to the comparison means, and the output of the comparison means transmits a signal to the address register which changes the address register output whenever a value received by the comparison means from the first characteristic examining means is at least as large as the value in the address of the programmable memory to which the comparison means is connected.
 59. The apparatus of claim 58 further comprising means for indicating the denomination of acceptable coins.
 60. A method of examining coins with respect to authenticity including the steps of examining a disc of known characteristics and causing a value to be stored in a programmable memory as a result of the examination, examining an unidentified coin at a later time and thereby producing a first electrical signal having a quality with a first value indicative of a first characteristic of the first coin, comparing the first value with the value stored in the programmable memory, and producing a signal indicative of the acceptability of the first coin with respect to the first characteristic when the first value is within predetermined limits for acceptable coins of a given denomination, the limits being dependent at least in part upon the stored value.
 61. Apparatus for examining coins with respect to authenticity comprising a coin passageway, means for producing an electromagnetic field in a region of the passageway, means for examining a characteristic of the interaction of a coin in the passageway with the electromagnetic field and producing an electrical signal having a quality representative of that characteristic, a programmable memory, and means for comparing values of said quality with upper and lower limit values stored in the programmable memory.
 62. The apparatus of claim 61 wherein the field producing means includes an oscillator and said quality is the frequency of that oscillator.
 63. The apparatus of claim 61 further comprising means to produce a signal indicative of the acceptability of the coin with respect to the examined characteristic if, as a result of the coin passing through the field, the peak variance of the value of said quality is within said limits. 